Push-rake.



Patented Sept. l6. I902. H. GREEN.

PUSH RAKE.

(Application filed Feb. 1, 1901.

3 Sheets-Sheet I,

(No Model.)

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v zzmmz/mom No. 709,264. Patented Sept. I6, I902.

H. GREEN.

PUSH RAKE.

(Application filed Feb. 1, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheei 2.

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(No Model.)

WITNESSES Patented Sept. I6, 5902.

H. GREEN.

P U S H R A K E.

(Application filed Feb. 1 1901.\ i

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

I N V E N T U R Hmwx Gram.

WITNEEEEE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY GREEN, OF PEKIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ACME HARVESTER COMPANY, OF PEKIN, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PUSH-RAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 709,264, dated September 16, 1902.

Application filed February 1, 1901. Serial No. 45,603. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the arrangement Be it known that I, HENRY GREEN, a citizen shown in Fig. 6. of the United States, residing at Pekin, in the A indicates the supporting-frame of the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have rake, which is supported at the rear end by invented certain new and useful Improvecaster-wheels B B. The rake-head is carried ments in Push-Rakes; and I do hereby declare at the forward end of said frame and consists that the following is a full, clear, and exact of the transverse bars O and D, which carry description of the invention, which will enthe teeth E, as shown. Between two of said able others skilled in the art to which it apperteeth, near each end of the head, is journaled m tains to make and use the same. a wheel F. To the under side of the frame This invention relates to improvements in A, near the forward end, is a cross-bar G, rakes, and pertains moreparticularly to that carrying a hanger H, to which is hinged a class of implements known as push-rakes bracket I on the bar C. One of such hinged of the power-lift variety. connections is placed on each extremity of 15 The primary object of the invention is to the frame, so as to properly secure the rakeprovide a power-lift rake whose operating head, but cannot be shown in the figures. mechanism will be absolutely positive in all A bell-crank J is pivoted on each forward its movements and will not be affected by end of the frame A and has pivotal connecchanges of the parts due to strain while in tion with the bar D through a link K, pivoted 2o use,or by deviations in the length of such to a bracket L on said bar D, as shown in partsdue to careless workmanship when con- Fig. 5. To the upper extremity of each bellstructing the machine, or by slight'c'hanges crank is pivoted a reach M, which approach in the location of bolt-holes. each other at their rear ends and are held in The various advantages and novel features a triangular fitting N, as shown in Fig. 2. 25 of my invention will be understood as the de- Said fitting is supported upon a bail O, the

' scription proceeds. One of these advantages lower extremities of which are carried on a arises in the use of a doubletree or draft-bar portion of the said supporting-frame in jourof asingle rigid piece so arranged and guided nals P. The apex of the bail is carried in that the pull of either horse will be fully an eye of a bolt Q, secured to the top of the 30 utilized instead of producing a seesawing fitting N, as shown. The frame A carries 8o movement so common to the ordinary pivoted near its rear end two parallel bars R R, which doubletrees. Furthermore, the relation of lie parallel with the rake-teeth. These bars the hand-lever to the said draft-bar is such support the doubletree, or draft-bar S, as I that one assists the other in the operation of prefer to term it, which lies at right angles 3 5 raising the rake-teeth. thereto and is adapted to shift back and forth In the accompanying drawings, in which thereon. Forward of the said draft-bar is 2. letters and figures of reference correspond chair T, bolted to the said bars R. This supwith those of the following specification, portsa leverUin pivotal manner whose lower Figure l is a plan view of myimproved rake. end is connected by links V to the said draft- 40 Fig. 2 is a perspective view in part section of bar by means of a lug W. To the said lever, a connection between a portion of the operatabove its pivotal point of support, is attached ing mechanism and the rake-head. Fig. 3 is a rod X, which passes through a hole in the an end elevation of a guiding link and roller rear end of the fitting Ndescribed and carries for the doubletree or draft-bar, the same bea nut Y. Said rod is permitted to play back 5 ing shown in part section. Fig. 4 is an eleand forth through the hole for the purposes 5 vation of the doubletree in part section and a hereinafter described. The bolt Q in the top guiding-roller therefor. Fig. 5 is a side eleof the fitting N in addition to forming an eye vation of the rake. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a for the bail 0 holds a strap X on the top of foot and hand lever mechanism. Fig. 7 is a the portion N. This projects rearwardly and 50 perspective view of a portion of the same, and a depending lip thereon has a hole through it through which passes the said rod X. This serves to support the fitting and said rod X, so that they will not teeter on the bail. Such an arrangement is not essential to the proper working of the rake, however, and need not he used. A pair of brackets Z are secured to the under side of the bars R and carry a horizontal rod 1, acting as a stop which engages a detent ,2,.notched at 3 and 4, as shown in Fig. 7. The said detent is pivotally held at the lower end of the lever U, as shown in Fig. 8, by means of a clamp composed of the portions 5 and 6, secured together on the said bar 2 by a bolt 7. The bolt 8, which forms the pivotal connection for the links V and the lever, constitutes a pivot for the saiddetent, as shown in said Fig. 8. However, other means may of course be substituted for pivoting this portion. The detent, acting by gravity, engages the said stop 1 by means of its notches, as will be hereinafter more fully described. I provide a foot-lever for releasing the said detent at certain times during the operation of the machine. This lever is illustrated in the several figures, but more fully in Figs. 7 and 8, by the numeral 9. It is rigidly mounted upon a rock shaft 10, journaled in the lower extremities of the brackets z, before referred to. Said rockshaft 10, ata point immediately beneath the detent 2, carries a trip 11, and adjacent to it is a weight 12 to counterbalance the weight of the lever for normally preventing engagement of the. said trip 11 with the detent.

The drivers seat is indicated at 13, being attached to a chair14, which is similar to the chair T and secured in like manner to the bars RR described. Parallel with the bars R R are two guides 15, secured at theirends to the chairs T and 14. These guides prevent the doubletree from raisingfrom the bars R R and preventan endwise' movement thereof by means of a roller 16, carried on a pin 17, secured to the draft-bar at about its middle length. Two convergent bars 18 are secured at the extremities of the draft-bar, the said convergent ends being attached to a link 19, adapted to slide upon a plate 20 on a block 21, secured to a cross-bar 22 of the supporting-frame. A roller 23 on a pin 24, secured to the said plate 20, guides the link and serves to prevent a swinging or pivotal movementofthedraft-barontherollerl6. Theoperation of the rake will now be understood. In raking the teeth E occupy the position indicated in full lines, Fig. 5, the lever U being forward, and at this time the detent 2 is in engagement with the stop 1 by means of its forward notch 3. In this position also the draftbar is locked in its rearward position by said detent. When sufficient load has been taken on, as the rake moves forward the operator places his foot u pon the lever 9 and by pressure raises the said detent from engagement with the stop 1 by means of the trip 11. At the same time he grasps the lever Uand draws it toward him, which, with the forward movement of the draft-bar, due to the pull of the horses,

said bar having been freed by raising the detent, as described, lifts the rake-head to the dotted-line position by drawing the reachesM rearwardly. The movement of the reaches is but slight, since the rake-head merely teeters upon the pivots of the wheels which carry it, for since the weight of the supporting-frame is behind the said wheel-pivots the extreme rear ends of the teeth will be depressed, while the forward portions thereof will rise. Thus it is evident that very little movement of said reaches is necessary. The labor necessary to shift the lever is but slight by reason of the pull of the horses being transferred for the moment from pushing the machine forward to pulling the draft-bar forward and having connection with said lever throws it toward the operator. It is possible to dispense with the hand portion of the lever and merely use that portion thereof which connects the rod X with the draft-bar and let the horses do the entire work. The manner of applying the power of the horses is such as to make this method possible. Therefore when the teeth are to be raised the operator has but to raise the detent 2 by the foot-lever 9 to permit the draft-bar to move forward to accomplish the desired end. When the bar has traveled the full length of its movement or until the raketeeth are carried to' their full height, the gravity-bar 2 has been moved to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8, and as the notch 4 reaches the stop 1 it drops into engagement therewith and supports the load through the lever U, rod X, reaches M M, bell-cranks J, and links K. When the load is to be delivered, it is only necessary to place the foot upon the lever 9 to raise the trip 11 and lift the detent 2 from the stop 1. When thus released,

the rake-head willfall to its normal position.

The said detent during its movement will travel upon the stop 1 and finally engage it by the notch 3, as shown in Fig. 8, where it remains until anotherload is to be raised. The operation is exceedingly simple and all movements are always under perfect control. The weight 12 for overcoming the weight of the said lever 9 always keeps the trip 11 free of the detent, so that there is no danger of tripping it in either position. The rod X,which, as before intimated, has loose connection with the portion N, permits the rake-head to rise and fall when passing over uneven ground without danger of breaking or disarranging any of the parts of the machine, the hole in the Wall of the said portion being larger than thediameter of the rod .70. Adjustment of the latter rod is had where it connects with the lever U by means of two nuts 25 and 26, by which the rod may be shortened or lengthened to meet requiremenls.

I may make various alterations in my improved rake both as to the arrangement of the parts and the means used. It is obvious that the various parts employed can be substituted by others that will accomplish the same results, and I do not wish to confine myself, therefore, to the eXact construction shown and described. The arrangement of my rake is such that the pull of the horses is utilized to the best advantage for steering it, because the draft-bar during the raking is held firmly, and, as stated at the beginning of the description, the pull of either horse is applied directly to the machine and is not transferred to the opposite horse in a seesawing manner and lost. The operation is thereby made positive, and this is doubly true during the time the load is being raised.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe, a rake-head at the forwardend thereof, a lifting mechanism for raising said head, the

same consisting of an unyielding connection pivotally attached to the said rake-head and extending toward the rear of said supportin gframe, a draft-bar at the rearof the said frame the same being slidable thereon, but held rigidly at right angles to the length of the machine at all times and having connection with such rake-head lifting mechanism for raising the rake-head when moved forward by the pull of the horses.

2. A push-rake consisting of asupportingframe, a rake-head at the forward end thereof and having the usual rake-teeth, lifting mechanism on the frame, the same consisting of an unyielding connection for raising the latter,

, treme positions for the purposes described.

3. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe, a rake-head at its forward end, lifting mechanism on the frame for operating the said rake-head, a hand-lever at the rear of the said supporting-frame and having connection with the said lifting mechanism, a single draft-bar having connection with said lever, a detent pivotally attached to the lower end of the lever, a rigid stop for engaging said detent and a tripping device for releasing the detent from the stop for the purposes set forth and described.

4. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe, a rake-head at its forward end, mechanism for raising and lowering said rakeslidable on the frame but held rigidly at right angles to the length of the machine at all times, said connections causing the forward movement of said bar to raise the rake-head, means for locking the draft-bar in its forward position to sustain therake-head in its raised position and a tripping device for releasing said locking means for freeing the rake-head and permitting it to lower to the raking position.

5. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe, a rake-head at its forward end, mechanism for raisingand lowering said rake-head, which consists of an unyielding pivotal connection pivoted to the rake-head, a draft-bar at the rear end of the said frame, the same being slidable thereon,and having connection with the said mechanism, said draft-bar at all times held rigidly at right angles to the length of the machine, and means for locking the rake-head in both the raised and lowered positions substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a push-rake, a supporting-frame, a rake-head at its forward end, mechanism for raising and lowering said rake-head, which consists of an unyielding connectionpivotally attached to the rake-head, a single draft-bar at the rear end of the said supporting-frame adapted to have a shifting movement thereon in the direction of the length of the machine but held rigidly at all times at right angles to its direction of movement, said bar having connection with the said raising and lowering mechanism whereby a forward movement of the said draft-bar will raise the rake-head, a hand-lever for assisting the raising movement through the said mechanism with which i it is connected, said lever being also attached to the draft-bar,a locking device substantially as described for sustaining the rake-head in the raised position and a tripping device for releasing the locking device for permitting the rake-head and draft-bar to return to their normal position as set forth.

7. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe A, a rake-head at its forward end, a rigid draft-bar S at the rear end of the frame, guides for keeping said draft-bar always at right angles to the length of the machine, mechanism for raising and lowering the said rake-head, pivotal connection between said draft-bar and said mechanism, which consists of a lever pivoted on the supporting-frame and having the said mechanism pivoted thereto above the supporting-pivot thereof, said draft-bar having pivotal connection with the lower end of the lever below said pivotal point whereby a forward movement of the said draft-bar on the frame, due to the pull of the horses, will communicate a reverse direction of movement of the rake-head mechanism and raise the said rake-head, means for locking the latter in the raised position, and a tripping device for releasing the locking means to allow the rake-head to fall, as set forth.

8. A push-rake consisting of a supportingframe, a rake-head at its forward end, wheels for supporting the said rake-head and permitting it to rock on the axles thereof, means for pivotally connecting that portion of the rake-head behind the supporting-wheels with the said supporting-frame, lifting mechanism for the rake-head consisting of bell-cranks on the forward ends of the frame, having pivotal connection with the rake-head in front of the said supportingwheels, a reach extending rearwardly from said bell-cranks, a draft-bar on the rake-frame,a lever mechanism connecting the said reach with the draft-bar, the latter having pivotal connection with such lever mechanism, said bar adapted to have a shifting movement on said supporting frame whereby when moved forward on the frame the rake-head will be elevated, a locking device for sustaining the head in the elevated position and means for disengaging said lockin g device to permit the said rake-head to reach its normal position, such locking device also preventing the draft-bar shifting to elevate the rake-head when the latter is in said normal position.

9. In a push-rake, the combination of the supporting-frame A, the rake-head at the forward end thereof, lifting mechanism therefor consisting of the bell-cranks J, links K connectin g the cranks with the said head, a reach attached to the cranks and extending rear- Wardly, the hand-lever U pivoted on the frame and having connection with the said reach, the draft-bar S having connection with such lever, the guides 15 and 19 for said draft-bar, a detent 2 connected to the lever, the stop 1 for engaging the said detent, and the trip 11 for raising the detent from the stop all being arranged substantially as and for the purposes set forth and described.

10. In a push-rake, the combination of a supporting-frame, a rake-head pivotally secured thereto at its forward end, means for raising and lowering said head, which consists of an unyielding connection pivoted thereto, a one-piece draft-bar slidably mounted on the supporting-frame and connected with the said raising means, means for operating said rake-head whereby apull on said bar will raise the rake-head and means for locking the bar against movement when the machine is in the act of raking.

11. In a push-rake, the combination of a supporting-frame A, a rake-head at its forward end adapted to rise and fall for the purposes set forth, mechanism for raising and lowering said head which consists of the reaches M pivotally attached to the rake-head, a bail O for supporting the rear ends of the reaches, a lever U pivoted on the supporting frame, a rod X connecting such lever and reaches at a point above the pivotal support of said lever, a draft-bar S of a single rigid member having draft attachments, said bar adapted to slide on the supporting-frame and connected with the said lever U at a point below the pivotal support thereof, a roller 16 on said bar, guides 15 for said roller, members 18 connected to the bar and extending for- Ward and converging at their forward ends, a link 19 attached to such converging ends, a roller 23 for guiding the link, means for locking the said bar stationary on the frame when the machine is in the act of raking and means for releasing said bar whereby the pull of the horses thereon will raise the rake-head as set forth.

12. In a push-rake the combination of a supporting-frame, a rake-head pivotally attached thereto at its forward end, mechanism connected pivotally to said head for raising and lowering it, a one-piece draft-bar slidably mounted on the supporting-frame to move in the direction of the length of the machine but held rigidly at right angles to the direction of movement said bar having connection with the said rake-head-operating mechanism, a lever pivoted on the frame and having pivotal connection below its point of support with the draft-bar and also having pivotal connection above its support with the said operating mechanism whereby a rearward pull on said lever in conjunction with a forward pull of the horses on the draft-bar will raise the rake-head as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY GREEN.

Witnesses:

R. S. HORNISH, E. L. DIETRIOH. 

